


The Revolving Door of First Times

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-12
Updated: 2012-09-12
Packaged: 2017-11-14 03:03:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/510627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“This is what it takes to get a visit.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Revolving Door of First Times

**Author's Note:**

> Imagine my surprise, and happiness, while I was in the bathroom this morning I figured out a way to make this ‘only AU’ ship canon. And it works too, which is awesome. I'm not saying I'm going to write them much in canon but when a door opens I have to step through. This is Criminal Minds fic #890. Holy moly!

Emily knocked on the Unit Chief’s door. He beckoned her inside but held up his hand before she spoke.

“Yes ma'am, I hear you. The budget meetings are next month and we really need to work this out. The way the Bureau has brushed us aside is troublesome. Yes ma'am, I'm concerned too. Yes, I understand. Of course, ma'am. Thank you, goodbye.” Hotch hung up the phone. “Are you alright, Prentiss?”

“My mother’s assistant Martha just called me. She was in a car accident and they took her to Montgomery Hospital. Martha said she complained of pain in her shoulder and hand plus shortness of breath. I'm sure she’ll pretend to be upset that I dropped everything but I um…I need to make sure she's alright.”

“Of course; go. That drive is over an hour, are you sure you'll be alright by yourself? I don't doubt your driving ability but I'm sure you're worried about your mother.”

“I'm fine Hotch, seriously.” Emily smiled some. “Martha said there were no life threatening injuries. I just want to be there, you know. I don’t want this to be something she can add years from now to the list of reasons that I'm a bad daughter.”

“I know you two,” Hotch sighed. “Have you spoken since you've been back?” 

“No comment. I’ll try my best to be back today.”

“The most important thing you can do right now it to take care of your mother.”

“Thanks.” Emily nodded and left his office. 

She gathered up things at her desk before heading to the elevator. This wasn’t going to be easy. She hadn't seen her mother since returning from the dead. Emily couldn’t remember the last time she saw her before she “died”. 

Now Elizabeth was in the hospital. She was probably fine but Emily had to make sure for herself. Only then could things slip back into the way they used to be. For better or worse, some things never changed.

***

Emily went up to the nurse’s station. There was the usual ER chaos but it wasn’t bad for two in the afternoon on a Tuesday.

“I'm looking for Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss. She was brought in…”

“Agent Prentiss?”

Emily turned around when she heard her name. She smiled when she saw the familiar face though it had been years.

“Doctor Barton,” she held out her hand as she walked over to him. “How are you?”

“I'm doing well thanks.”

“How's Jeffrey?” Emily asked.

“He's a senior in high school now and lots of schools are looking at him for Division I lacrosse. It’s an exciting time for him; I'm so proud of all he's accomplished. Thank you for asking about him.”

“I've got one more thing to ask. Do you know where I can find my mother? Her name is Elizabeth Prentiss and she came in about 2 hours ago in a car accident. Her assistant told me it wasn’t life-threatening but…”

“Elizabeth Prentiss is your mother?” he asked.

“Yes. Do you know her?”

“I do, and the resemblance is uncanny.” Tom smiled. “I patched her up but she’s still resting in the back. The shortness of breath was a bit of a concern, along with accelerated heartbeat and elevated blood pressure. I think it was shock but I thought it better to look after her for a little while. There's no need to admit her unless it doesn’t regulate itself with a little rest. I’ll take you to her.”

“Thanks so much.” Emily smiled as she followed him. “Are you sure she's alright?”

“She's fine. Her shoulder was dislocated; we popped it back into place. Her left wrist suffered a sprain so it’s wrapped tight. The cuts and contusions were mostly superficial though she did require a few stitches on her forehead because of broken glass.” He walked through the sliding glass door with Emily. Elizabeth…”

“Tom,” she took off the oxygen mask. “I feel silly wearing this thing. You need to discharge me so I can go home. You know I hate hospitals and I…Emily. What are you doing here?”

“Martha called me and said there had been an accident. I came as soon as I could.”

“This is what it takes to get a visit.”

Emily held back her sigh because she knew it was coming. If her mother hadn't gone there she would've asked Doctor Barton to check for head injuries. Tom. Doctor Barton’s first name was Tom and that’s what her mother called him when he walked in. 

And he called her Elizabeth. They were on the first name basis. He said mother and daughter looked so much alike. What was going on there?

“Dr. Barton, could you please excuse us?” Emily asked.

“Sure. Ambassador, do not upset yourself. The point is to stabilize your blood pressure and heartbeat. Since I'm not discharging you before that it’s in your best interest to relax and not overdo it.”

“It’s in your best interest to stop calling me Ambassador.” She replied.

Suppressing a grin, Tom walked out of the room. Emily’s eyes followed him but then she looked at her mother again.

“So you two know each other?” she asked.

“I knew you weren't dead. I didn’t hear it from you but that’s understandable considering your injuries. I still have a bone to pick with Agent Hotchner about how he just took control of the situation and your family had to find out after the fact. Your father said he didn’t know where you were convalescing but I never quite believed him. Did you really plan to hide forever? That has never been your nature, darling. Prentisses do not hide…we fight our battles.”

“I fought Mother. I was stabbed in the abdomen with a stake for my trouble.”

“You should've killed the S.O.B.” Elizabeth said.

“He's dead now so we really don’t need to have that conversation.” Emily shook her head.

“Apparently we don’t need to have any conversation.”

“Mother…”

“I was scared to death and no one would tell me anything. I don’t take well to not having my concerns addressed.”

“It was for your safety and it’s a long story.” Emily slipped her hands in her pockets.

“Many of your stories are long Emily; you come by that honest. I wonder what it would be like if we actually sat down one day and talked. I don’t mean struggling through the niceties and small talk. I mean a real conversation.”

“Do you still keep that bottle of Glenfiddich in the cabinet in your study?” Emily asked.

“Always.” Elizabeth nodded.

“If we have a real conversation we would probably need that. We would need all of it.”

“It’s always there Emily…it always has been.” Her tone was softer.

“Are you alright, Mother?”

“I'm going to be fine. The wounds were mostly superficial though the shoulder and wrist should have me in a sling for a while. I'm sure Dr. Barton will take excellent care of me. He is a top-notch physician.”

“He was involved in a case the BAU had about three years ago. Someone was threatening his son.”

“Jeffrey? He’s just a teenage boy. That’s awful.”

She knew his son’s name. Oh yeah, they were on a little more than the first name basis.

“Sometimes my job can be that way.” Emily said. “Do you know Dr. Barton personally, Mother?”

“We met a little over a year ago at a fundraiser for the Silver Spring Children’s Cancer Hospital. So yes, we know each other. It’s why I came here. I only wanted Tom taking care of me. You know I hate hospitals and only have a middling tolerance for most doctors.”

“He's an ER doctor so I don’t know much about his bedside manner.”

“It’s second to none.” Elizabeth smiled when she said it.

Emily looked at her mother. She looked at a face that was practically her own. They had the same bone structure, the same shaped eyes, and the same color eyes. The main difference was Emily’s nose. 

No one could say for sure where it came from. The few compliments she got in her life from her paternal grandmother were on her perfect Prentiss Anglo-Saxon nose. Leave it to Grandmother Prentiss to love the one thing about herself that Emily could do without. There was no use wanting to change it now…the nose was a part of her.

“Well you should have someone dedicated looking after you.” she said.

“I do.” Elizabeth nodded. “Unfortunately I'm trapped here until my blood pressure goes down.”

“Accidents can be shocking, Mother; believe me I know. Once I was in an accident and I started shooting at the suspect. Later when Morgan asked me I thought I shot him twice but he told me I emptied my clip. That’s sixteen shots.”

“Oh God, that’s not good darling.”

“No.” Emily shook her head. “So please listen to Dr. Barton…he has your best interest at heart.”

“I know he does. I'm going to be fine, Emily, you should probably go back to work.”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm sure. I feel better already and though I surely wish we could’ve seen each other under better circumstances, I'm still glad I saw you.”

“I'm glad too.”

Emily walked over and sat on the side of the bed. Elizabeth sat up, wrapping her arms around her daughter. It seemed as if they were both holding on for dear life. She didn’t remember the last time her mother actually held her, comforted her. Emily cut that part of herself off a long time ago. She was just tired of being hurt. She was just tired.

“I love you, Emily.” Elizabeth pulled away, once against resting on the uncomfortable pillows.

“I love you too. Are you sure you'll be OK here alone?”

“I'm a big girl, darling. Anyway, Tom will poke his head in and Martha should be back to pick me up soon.”

“Alright.” Nodding, Emily got up from the bed. There was little left to say so she decided on nothing at all. It wouldn’t be the first time that was her default position with her mother.

“I’ll talk to you soon.”

“That’s fine.” Elizabeth said.

Neither one felt in the mood to say goodbye. Emily left the room and found Tom Barton at the nurse’s station signing off on charts.

“You're going to look after her?” she asked.

“Absolutely.” Tom nodded. “I knew that you and I would eventually see each other again, Agent Prentiss. I didn’t want it to be awkward.”

“You're a friend of my mother’s…I think it’s alright if you call me Emily.”

“I'm in love with your mother.”

“OK, then you need to call me Agent Prentiss and keep in mind that I am registered to carry two firearms.”

“I will keep that in mind.” Tom smiled.

“Just let me know if anything changes in her condition. I'm not trying to put you in the middle but I know my mother very well. She won't want to burden me.”

More likely she would use it as fodder later but there were times when Emily was sure that her mother truly believed she didn’t give a damn. The opposite was true; she cared too much. That’s why she was almost 40 years old and still walking around with open, gaping wounds. Emily pulled a card from her pocket, took the pen from Tom’s and scribbled on it.

“That’s my personal cell number. If you think she needs anything, please call me. I won't deny that our relationship is complicated but I'm all she has.”

“I wouldn’t say you're all she has anymore Emily, but I understand.” Tom put the card in his pants pocket. Elizabeth wouldn’t be happy if she knew of the conversation or the alliance. He didn’t mind keeping it to himself for the time being.

“So you’ll call me?” she asked.

“I will.”

“Thank you Dr. Barton.” Emily shook his hand.

“Please call me Tom.”

She nodded and then left the hospital. Luckily there was no ticket on her SUV; the federal plates afforded her a few luxuries. She climbed in and took a deep breath. Her mother was going to be fine. None of her wounds were life threatening. 

They had made it through their first conversation in God knows how long relatively unscathed. Being in a hospital probably made it more subdued than it would've been otherwise. Still, Emily couldn’t help but smile thinking about her and her mother getting trashed on scotch and being honest. It would probably never happen but it was an interesting thought. She started the car just as her cell phone rang. Emily looked down at the face on the screen and answered.

“Hello.”

“Is your mother alright?” Hotch asked.

“She's going to be fine. She is under the care of an excellent physician.”

“That’s good. Do you need anything?”

“No, but thank you for asking. I'm on my way back to Quantico.”

“I’ll see you when you get here.”

“Bye Hotch.”

Emily hung up, took another deep breath, and headed to the BAU. It had been a long afternoon; would probably be a long evening. She felt better about things with her mother. She felt a little better. At least the first time only had to be the first time once. Emily and Elizabeth Prentiss had a lifetime of first times.

***


End file.
